Leo Dehon Library: Healing the Healers: Scripture

Scripture Choices

Dr. John Olesnavage's class, PS--601: Pastoral Counseling in a Multicultural Church, watched Episode 1 of the Odyssey Film, Healing the Healers. This 5-part series looks at the aftermath of the Newtown, Connecticut tragedy at Sandy Hook Elementary. Before driving to the school on December 14, 2012, Adam Lanza shot and killed his mother at their Newtown home. At Sandy Hook Elementary he shot and killed 26 people, including 20 children between six and seven years old, and six adult staff members, before committing suicide. These scripture passages were chosen by students in response to the discussion of clergy response to trauma.
—facilitated by Jennifer Bartholomew, Director of Library & Academic Support Services, September 2019

Hebrew Bible

Psalm 23
I chose this psalm because of our representation of sheep. Sheep do not have power to choose, they follow, and even when protected it is not of their own power. Traumatic events remind us that we are no where near as powerful as we would like to be, and this psalm helps us see that. —M. Lawinger
Psalm 31:14-16
I chose these verses because of the multiple themes. In the beginning, it seems like the world is full of evil and I am surrounded by evil. However, God reminds me that he is Lord of all the earth and even of time. He sees everything and I need only to turn to Him in order to receive consolation even in the midst of suffering. —T. Schumaker

New Testament

Galatians 3:28
As an immigrant in this country my concern is to see how the anti-immigrant discourse is taking over the political language of this country, affecting many people (including people I know and friends) taking away from them the opportunity to find a way decent and honest a better life than possibly in their countries they could not find. And as a Catholic, my duty is to help change that language of division by one where we show that as Christians we see that we are all sons and daughters of the same father with the same rights, duties and that we have to work to seek union in our diversity. —A. Sutachan
Matthew 7: 12 & Luke 6:31
Because we are beings who respond to stimuli and whatever negative or positive impacts that comes to us might in most cases have a ripple effect in the lives of others. Therefore we are advised to avoid anything that will lead us into hurting others or make them to become distressed.Trauma usually can come with such a tragic effect in a community life and or family. And in such a case, it could be very devastating. Just as we are all one body in the church of Christ, it is possible that when a member of the church/family suffers from any negative impacts it will eventually come to us one way or the other. —A. Hyginus
Matthew 10:21-23
I chose those verses because in nowadays we are finding hatred everywhere. Houses should be the place of the beginning of love and also the place of the learning of love, on the other hands they are so so. Sometimes some parents don’t spend enough time to their children, and they don’t really know the real need of them.They don’t really know what is going on in the lives of their Children. I pray God for families that they can get together to transmit to their children the same modalities that they received from their parents. With those modalities hatred will deeply diminish and love will spread abundantly throughout the universe. —W. Colas